Mexican troops have killed a drug cartel leader who had a $3 million bounty placed on him by the United States, after he and an associate opened fire on security forces in western Mexico.
Luis Enrique Barragan, 39, was killed during the gunfight in Tocumbo town in Michoacan state, the Mexican government announced on Tuesday.
Barragan was a leader of Cartel de Los Reyes, a faction of the larger Carteles Unidos organisation, which the United States has classified as a foreign terrorist group.
Security Minister Omar Garcia Harfuch said Barragan and his associate opened fire at soldiers and members of the National Guard before they were killed in the clash.
Barragan was also accused of leading an extortion ring that targeted avocado farmers in Michoacan, Garcia Harfuch said in a social media post.
The US government had been seeking Barragan over alleged drug and firearms offences and had offered a $3 million reward for information leading to his capture.
A US State Department web page on Barragan and the bounty says he was indicted in Washington in 2023 on drug conspiracy and firearms offences.
The page describes Barragan as "a well known sicario and combat leader" who used proceeds from sales of cocaine, fentanyl and other drugs in the United States to buy weapons for fighting a rival cartel that moved into Michoacan, called the Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
His death came after the confrontation with Mexican security forces in Tocumbo, where the cartel leader and his associate exchanged fire with the soldiers and National Guard personnel.
Authorities said Barragan had been a senior figure within Cartel de Los Reyes, which operates as part of Carteles Unidos.
The United States has designated the wider cartel coalition as a foreign terrorist group, placing it among criminal organisations targeted by American authorities.
The case had also drawn attention because of Barragan's alleged role in the extortion of avocado farmers in Michoacan, one of the areas where criminal groups have been accused of targeting the agricultural sector.
Garcia Harfuch confirmed the killing and said the two men died during the armed confrontation after opening fire on the security forces.